AN - Please check out the AN at the bottom. Explanation for my absence and a question I need you guys to help me with.
Chapter Twenty-Six – So it begins
So this is what you meant
When you said that you were spent
And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit
Right to the top
Don't hold back
Imagine Dragons – It's time
-0-
The days that proceeded Evelyn's revelation to Shane seemed to pass in a hurried blur. The group was finally back together, Beth was on the mend but instead of being able to breathe a sigh of relief, the group was running scared. Rick, Hershel and Glenn hadn't returned from town alone those few days ago. Instead, in tow, bound, gagged and blindfolded in the back of the truck was a young boy called Randall, a member of the same gang that had tried to kill Rick and the others. Randall's arrival and ultimate imprisonment here on the farm had caused a big rift in the already fractured group.
After much debate the original plan had been to release him, but they'd all quickly realized that the plan held too much risk. There was every chance he'd run back to his own group and lead them back here; especially now they knew that he knew Maggie, something which had been revealed during a long interrogation. The risk was too great now, meaning the group was left with a dilemma…one which had them divided. Some were willing to take the risk of letting him go or allowing him to join the group. Others were dallying around with the options to either keep him tied up until they left, or kill him. However you looked at it, whatever decision they made came with its own set of consequences.
Dale was truly living up to his role as the moral compass of the group; he didn't trust Randell but he didn't want the group to kill him. He knew what something like that would do, it'd push them across a line they wouldn't be able to come back from. The passion and the earnestness of his words moved quite a few of them, to the point where some were leaning more towards Dale's way of thinking. Mark though was adamant about what they had to do, in a way how he was acting and pushing this seemed to be his way of trying to push Rick aside as leader of their group.
"You're weak man, too scared to get your hands dirty." He'd gone on to say he'd do the honors, by shooting Randell himself, yet Rick was having none of it, warning the older man to stay away from the boy. The fact that Shane was now standing on the side of Rick too only seemed to incense Mark all the more, almost like he could feel himself losing his grip on this group. Shane was done being pushed around, done with being manipulated into a certain way of thinking by the same man he knew tried to rape his wife.
Somehow he'd managed to keep from killing Mark, but only because of Evelyn's insistence as well as Ricks. They were trying to work out a plan to get the poisonous man away from the group instead, despite Shane's desire to simply ram a knife through his heart. Rick, being the more rational and level headed of the two had talked Shane out of that idea; though he didn't push it off the table completely…he called it plan B. Shane didn't like it but he was reigning in the desire to kill the other man, when it was promised that he would be dealt with eventually. For now all the women and children were to stay away from him, his tent moved away from the others.
"She's put this whole group in danger Rick!"
Combing her fingers through her long dark hair, Lori stared back at her husband incredulously, wondering why he wasn't taking action, why he wasn't fixing the problem that was Mark. She couldn't believe Evelyn had kept it to herself, not said or done anything about the danger she'd allowed to tag along with them. From his position across the kitchen, Rick merely watched her pace and shook his head.
"It ain't like that Lori. Evie didn't know what would happen…"
"There you go defending her again Rick! For once would you just see my point of view, this guy is dangerous, he tried to rape her…God knows what else he's capable of!" she exclaimed and Rick knew she was right. They had no idea what this guy was capable of and if his suspicions were right, then Mark had done a lot more than he wanted them to know.
"I do see your side Lori…" Rick cut off abruptly when the front door to the house opened and T-dog strolled in carrying one of the many boxes they owned. Stepping closer to his wife, Rick lowered his voice, "You need to trust me, Shane and I, we're gonna make this right." He told her, keenly aware of the growing sound of voices as their people began to file into the house, moving themselves in. Lori sighed and shook her head.
"Well you better do somethin' and fast." She warned, before moving away from him and heading into the living room to help with the unpacking. Rick watched her leave, an uneasy feeling settling into his gut as he did so. Closing his eyes he turned his face downwards for a moment before straightening up, his hand resting on his Colt as he turned and followed after Lori. Bypassing Glenn and Maggie, Rick paused at the window, watching as Lori took a blue box from Evelyn wordlessly beside the truck and brought it inside without so much as a word.
Rick continued to watch as Evelyn shook her head, brushing her tangled curls away from her face before turning away from the house, with Hershel slowly approaching her from a distance. He could see how her body tensed, see the exhaustion in her features and felt worried. This world was beating them all down but Evelyn didn't have just herself to worry about keeping alive anymore, she was pregnant and he had every reason to believe she was struggling with that. Things had only become more stressful for her over the last few days, with the revelation of Mark coming out and Shane's ultimate pulling away.
Rick knew Shane and he knew that the other man was only doing his best. Shane was on the verge of killing Mark, he was barely maintaining his grip on sanity since discovering what the man had tried to do to his wife, what he'd forced him to be a part of with Otis. Yes, Rick knew all about what went down at the school, knew everything now. He'd had his suspicions and last night Shane had confirmed them all. Rick didn't blame his friend though, how could he since he'd brought back what was needed for Carl's recovery. So had Mark of course but he didn't do any of it for Carl, he'd murdered Otis indirectly, in cold blood.
"You and Shane will take my room."
Evelyn glanced over her shoulder, slightly startled only allowing herself to relax again when she saw it was Hershel. Smiling slightly and shaking her head, she waved off the offer. "That's kind of you Hershel but we'll be good downstairs, I don't want to push you out." She told him, honestly not even sure Shane would share the room with her, he'd not even slept in their tent the last few nights. The sane part of her knew it was just him trying to work things out in his head but the insecure, less rational side of her was terrified and panicking that he was cutting his losses.
"Nonsense, like I'm goin' to sleep in that bed whilst there's a pregnant woman downstairs who needs it so much more than I do. I've already claimed the couch." He replied, only kindness in his eyes and Evelyn felt her smile turn into a more genuine one.
"Well thank you, I appreciate that." She said honestly, lightly caressing her stomach, after a lot of mulling it over she'd determined herself to be around the 3 month mark, still early but closing in on the end of her first trimester. "It's good of you to open up your home…"
"Our home." Hershel corrected her with a warm smile. He'd come a long way from a few days ago, from a man who'd wanted them off this farm and away from his family, to someone who was opening his home to strangers and making them family. Which was what they were now, family, each and every one of them. "You're lookin' a little worn down." He pointed out and instead of taking it as some women might Evelyn shrugged her shoulders.
"Aren't we all." She chuckled, brushing her hair off her face and letting her wander to the approaching figure of her husband, though instead of coming to her he was stopping and talking to Daryl. Sighing sadly she looked down at the ground and then shook her head, looking back up at Hershel. "It's been a long few days." She admitted, in truth she hadn't been sleeping well. Without Shane, and with the constant worry over Mark, sleep had evaded her.
Hershel seemed to regard her for a moment before nodding back to the house, "Come now, you need some rest if not for you, then for that little one inside of you." He told her sternly and Evelyn found she couldn't argue and she had no real desire too. Feeling Shane's eyes on her, Evelyn refused to turn around and instead allowed Hershel to herd her up the stairs, past the chaos of the group in the living room.
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Stood in the center of Hershel's bedroom, Evelyn made sure he knew just how much this kind gesture meant to her. He'd brushed off the sentiment, telling her it was the right thing to do and that now she had no excuse not to get some real rest. She liked how simple he had made it sound, like sleep and rest was something that would come easy now that she had a bed, so she didn't say anything to contrary on that. Truth was, it wasn't only Shane on her mind it was Mark, as always he lingered there, in the dark corner of her mind. She knew that he knew she'd told Shane, he knew that he now had no power over her, over Shane, over any of them and that made him more dangerous than ever.
"Hershel said you were s'posed to be restin'."
Looking away from the window Evelyn glanced across at Shane and frowned, stepping over to the bed and ignoring the way he lingered in the doorway. "I am, or I'm gonna try," she told him honestly, her back to him as she sat down and began the slow process of removing her boots. Behind her she heard Shane sigh, heard his awkward shuffling and grew restless, "Is there somethin' that you wanted?" she asked him, pausing to look over her shoulder at him questioningly.
Shane just shook his head, scratching at the back of his neck. "Nah, nothin' I just, wanted to check in on ya. Make sure you're alright," he admitted and Evelyn nodded, turning back to remove her boots, growing weary with the civil nature of their conversation.
"Well I'm fine so you can rest easy and continue avoiding me." She threw at him, shrugging off her shirt and placing it over the end of the bed, leaving her in just her vest top and jeans. She was tired and weary and done with the constant back and forth with her and Shane. One day they were fine, the next there was something pulling them apart, one or both of them were pushing the other away. This world was bad enough, hard enough without having to constantly worry about the state of your relationship.
"I'm not…I'm not avoidin' you darlin', I just, I hate you seein' me like this." He told her, moving further into the bedroom and closing the door behind him when he heard voices, not wanting an audience. "I'm barely controllin' the desire to kill that bastard; you shouldn't have to see me like that."
Evelyn shook her head, her back still to him. Whilst she understood his desire to shield her from the darkest sides of him, she didn't agree that he should be staying away from her. This distance was taking its toll on her and she knew it'd be doing the same to him. They didn't work apart, they were better together. It's the way it had always been. "So Mark wins." She stated, hating the man who was the cause of all of this.
"He ain't winnin' jack Evie, and I ain't gonna apologize for wanting to kill him, not after what he did to you." He told her and Evelyn felt her stomach flip. He was protecting her, like always; he was just going about it the wrong way. "I'm still here Evie, I just needed time." He said, feeling like a failure for not noticing anything sooner. He'd let Mark into his head, let the other man twist things and he'd let him. He wasn't going to make that mistake again and he was going to make sure, Mark never hurt anyone again.
"Hershel gave me this room, gave us this room." She said, turning her head to look over her shoulder, "Am I goin' to be sleepin' alone in here too tonight?" she asked him, watching as he studied her for a moment before dropping his stance and moving around the bed. Taking her hands in his he tugged the brunette up to stand in front of him, cupping her face between his rough hands.
"I'll be here tonight." He promised her, before leaning in and pressing his lips against her soft ones. For a split second they were placed into their own tiny little bubble, away from the horrors of the world, away from all the drama. Evelyn's hands were resting on top of his arms as she leaned into the kiss, the tension and weariness leaving her tired body. "Now, get some rest okay." He told her, his calloused thumbs gently caressing her cheeks.
"Okay." She replied, leaning in as he pressed one last kiss to her forehead. For a moment everything felt right in the world again. That insecure side of her was rejoicing once more, whilst the rational side of her mind was pointing out that it had been right all the time. Shane hadn't been pulling away he'd just been trying to protect her from himself. As he pulled away, she resisted the urge to pull him back and insist he stay with her and rest some; instead she smiled softly and watched him move towards the door. "Shane?" she called out as name as he reached the door, his hand resting on the door knob. When he turned to look at her again she smiled, "I love you."
Shane smiled that handsome smile that made her fall in love all over again, "I love you too darlin', always." He replied and she felt her heart swell. Their eyes lingered on each other for a long moment before Shane reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind him. Evelyn continued to stare at the closed door for a long moment before turning towards the window, pulling aside the curtains as she gazed outside. Sure enough there was her husband, stood beside Rick the two of them discussing something she guessed had to do with the barn with the way they were pointing.
As if sensing her eyes on him, Shane turned away from Rick and looked up at the window. When their eyes met that handsome smirk appeared on his face and she had to smile back. Things were okay, she'd allowed her insecurities to come out to play, to make her think the worst when it was the complete opposite. Their moment was broken by Rick who stole Shane's focus once more and it was then Evelyn reluctantly moved back to the empty bed.
As if being hit by a freight train, the exhaustion quickly took over and she quickly climbed into the center of the soft mattress, her head barely hitting the pillow before her eyes were shut and darkness overtook her.
-0-
It was some hours later when Evelyn awoke from her deep slumber, with a violent jolt. Sitting up quickly she looked around the dark room in confusion. Something had woken her, something linked to that very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something felt wrong, very wrong and panic was bubbling up inside of her now. Slipping from the bed, she put her feet into her boots and grabbed her shirt, hurrying over to the window. Night had fallen, in fact from what she could guess it was very late.
Stepping back from the window and buttoning up her shirt, Evelyn headed out of the bedroom. A sense of unease hitting her right away, it was very quiet, though there was a light coming from the stairs, so she wasn't alone. Moving quickly, yet quietly down the stairs she moved into the living room where she was relieved to find everyone…well everyone minus a few key faces.
"Where's Shane?" she asked, bringing everyone's attention onto her. Daryl, Glenn, Rick and Mark were also missing but she didn't care too much about that latter of the five of them. For all she cared Mark could have been fed to the walkers, a sentiment mirrored by most of the group.
"Randall got free." Carol said, and Evelyn frowned at the news. Randall had been handcuffed, locked in a shed, how had he managed to get free. "Rick and Shane led the others to go…find him," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Everyone exchanged knowing looks and it was quickly clear that the chances of Randall being brought back alive were slim to none.
"How long have they been gone?" Evelyn asked, trying not to let that panic welling up inside of her show on the outside. She noticed the absence of Louis and Carl as well and knew they'd likely be upstairs, being kept away from all of this.
"Few hours." Lori chimed in, giving Evelyn a look she couldn't quite describe. Instead of choosing to point it out, Evelyn stepped over to the window, beside Hershel and Patricia and looked outside. There was nothing but darkness, no movement, no signs that anyone was coming back. "They headed into the woods after Mark; Randall clocked him over the back of his head with a rock." Evelyn spun around, now understanding the look on Lori's face.
"Mark told them that?" she asked, the others just nodded and Evelyn felt that panic growing inside her, shoot to new heights. Combing her fingers through her hair she looked at Lori, the other woman understanding what she wanted instantly. Stepping around Maggie who was pinned at the window and searching for Glenn, Evelyn headed through to the kitchen with Lori trailing after her. "This isn't good. There's no way Randall managed to sneak up on Mark like that, let alone take him down…" She said once they were out of ear shot.
"I know." Lori said, leaning against the counter, using her hands to brace herself against the edge. "I think Shane and Rick know that too…" she said, hoping so at least. Fixing Evelyn with a look, she watched the slightly younger woman pacing the kitchen, her hands visibly shaking as they lay against her stomach, in a protective manner Lori knew all too well from carrying Carl. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
Evelyn came to an abrupt halt and shut her eyes, forcing herself to take a moment to breathe before turning back to Lori. The question was justified, of course it was, she knew the other woman knew what Mark had done, and Rick no doubt had told her. "I was scared about what Shane would do…Mark latched onto this group Lori and I…even after what he did, the idea of condemning a man who'd been hidden inside the CDC since the beginning, to survive alone, was unthinkable…"
"If anyone could have done it, it would have been him." Lori pointed out and she had a point, Evelyn knew this too. Mark was strong enough and brutal enough to last alone. Allowing him to stay had caused all the problems they were having now, Otis's death was on Evelyn, at least that's how she saw it. Mark may have pulled the trigger, persuaded Shane to leave then man to be eaten alive but Evelyn keeping quiet about the attack on her, she felt like she had set this all into motion. "Look at everything that's happening…"
"Damn it Lori, don't you think I know that!" Evelyn hissed, glancing towards the door separating them from the others. "Don't you think I know that all of this is my fault, Otis might still be alive if I'd have just spoken up sooner…my husband wouldn't have turned on Rick, they wouldn't be out there now…I know all of this and I hate myself enough I don't need anyone else…"
"I'm not." Lori held her hands up, interrupting Evelyn mid rant. Once she was sure she had the other woman's attention she carried on. "I'm not blaming you for any of this, you know it was wrong and I do wish you had spoken up sooner…but I know what you were trying to do…it's the exact same thing Rick's been doing." She pointed out and Evelyn frowned in confusion.
"I don't understand." She said and Lori shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't realized it till after her conversation with Rick this afternoon, when she'd been talking to Carol, just how similar Rick and Evelyn could be.
"He attacked you and you still wanted to give him a chance, you hated him sure but you never once entertained the idea of leaving him behind. You gave him a chance, the same as Rick, the same as he did when he went back to Atlanta to get Merle." She said and Evelyn paused for a moment. "The world doesn't work like that anymore Evelyn, bad guys are bad…they shouldn't get chances. Mark got a chance and look what he did to Otis, look at tonight…"
Evelyn contemplated this; she herself thought that she'd adjusted to the ways of this world. She understood that things weren't like they were before that sometimes bad things had to get done, that the needs of the many outweighed the few and sometimes good people died. She'd accepted Shane's involvement with Otis because in the end Carl had been saved and her husband had come back to her. Yet here was Lori, pointing out that she, like Rick was still clinging to some ideals of their life before. Maybe the other woman was right, yet before she could think on it some more a loud crack echoed through the farm.
"Was that a gunshot?" she asked Lori, whose face mirrored her own. The two women hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room where the rest of the group was stood, all of them wearing similar expressions. "Where did that come from?" she asked no one in particular. Before anyone could respond there was another shot, quickly followed by 2 more. "Oh my god."
"I can't tell, didn't sound too far though." Maggie said, her hands and face practically pressed up against the window as she searched for answers. Her Dad quietly ushered her away however after a few moments, understanding the dangers of them standing so openly in front of the window. Not wanting to be easy targets the rest of them followed his example and moved to sit down or stand next to the walls. Evelyn sat down on the arm of the chair in which Amy was sat and put her arm around the younger girls shoulder.
-0-
Rick fell back away from the body at his feet, landing heavily on the ground. Struggling to catch his breath, he lifted his bloodied hand to wipe at his face before rolling onto his front and pushing himself up. "Carl?" he called out to his son who stood holding his gun steady and aimed forward. Beside him un-moving was the body of Louis, the young boy caught in the crossfire of this brutal shoot out. Clambering to his knees Rick hurried over to the boy and pulled him over, checking for some kind of pulse, yet couldn't find one.
Closing his eyes tightly, fighting down the despair he felt Rick stood and backed up to where his best friend still lay breathing heavily. "Shane, brother?" he crouched down next to Shane and pulled the other man's hands away from his stomach. Almost instantly his own hands covered where Shane's had previously been and he cursed loudly.
"Ain't lookin' too good huh?" Shane asked, wincing painfully as he began to cough. Everything had happened so fast, he couldn't be sure what had really happened. Mark had come out of nowhere, firing one shot off at Rick before running at Shane with a hunting knife, getting in two clean stabs before Rick took him down. Mark had barely reacted to the gunshot though, he'd ripped out his other weapon, letting Shane fall to the floor and fired at Rick again, just before Rick got in another shot, landing this one in the throat. "Louis…Carl…?" Shane asked, having caught a glimpse of the boys just before he fell.
"Carl's fine, we gotta get you back to the house." Rick said, batting away Shane's hand as the other man made a move to pull out the knife still stuck in his stomach. "Leave it; come on…Carl, I need your help…Carl…?" Rick looked up sharply when he didn't hear his son moving. Carl still had his gun raised and it almost looked as though it was aimed at Rick himself. "Carl…?"
A gunshot rang out and Rick braced himself for a bullet that never hit, instead he heard something heavy drop some few feet behind him. Looking up he saw the reanimated body of Mark now lay dead again, after a well-aimed headshot from Carl. Rick pulled his gaze from Mark to his son who was putting away his weapon and striding over to his Dad and Shane. "We have to come back for Louis." He told his Dad firmly, hating leaving his best friend behind but knowing there was nothing to be done for the young boy anymore.
Rick nodded his head and with Carl's help managed to get Shane up. Rick forced his free hand against the open wound on Shane's stomach, hoping the knife would stay in the other one till they got the man back to the farm house. "Come on brother…" he said quietly, shoving Shane and forcing the other man to stay awake as they began to lead him and half drag him across the field.
"Dad, we gotta go quicker…" Carl said, the panic in his voice catching Rick's attention. They were still a good way from the house, but Carl was practically urging them to go quicker. Looking at Carl, Rick readied himself to ask why when a cold dread filled his body. The unmistakable sounds of walkers captured his attention and glancing over his shoulder and towards the barn in the distance his eyes widened.
"Shit…." He hissed, tightening his grip on Shane and hoisting him just that little bit higher. "Shane come on, work with us now we gotta go…" he urged the man, who even in the dangerous state he was in, picked up on what was happening and forced his legs to start co-operating.
The farm was about to be over-run.
-0-
"Shane and Rick not back?"
Evelyn and the others looked up sharply as Glenn and Daryl strode into the living room. Maggie hurried over to Glenn and embraced him tightly whilst the others focused on Daryl, "Not yet, we heard gunshots…did you find Randall?" she asked, standing up from the chair she'd been sat in, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
"We found him, he was already turned." Glenn said once Maggie let him go. Everyone in the room frowned, but Hershel stepped forward.
"Walkers got him?" he asked, watching as Daryl and Glenn both exchanged a knowing look.
"I don't think so, there were no bite marks his neck had been broken." Daryl said and Evelyn covered her mouth. Shaking her head she turned away from the group, "Mark's tracks were right on top of Randall's, it wasn't no accident." He added
"How did he turn though?" Patricia asked and Evelyn finally turned around and looked at everyone, stepping closer to the chair where Amy sat, watching her nervously. Only the other day Evelyn had taken the girl aside and told her the truth, which to her credit Amy reacted exceptionally well.
"Because we're all infected…" she announced, watching all eyes turn to her abruptly.
"What the hell does that mean?" Lori asked her look one of shock whereas others danced between disbelief and confusion, not really taking in what Evelyn had said. Reaching into her pocket Evelyn pulled out the paper she carried everywhere and held it up.
"Back at the CDC, right before we left Jenner handed me this, it says everyone's infected, which I guess we should have known from the start. There's no way it could have spread this quick if it was just the bites that killed us." She said, handing the paper to Hershel she sighed, "No matter how you die, if your brain is still intact you come back as a walker."
"And you didn't tell us this sooner why?" demanded Carol and Evelyn shrugged lightly, feeling guilty yes but to her credit she only found the note herself a few days ago and then there'd been so much happening, with Otis, Sophia, Randall there'd been no right moment to tell anyone.
"I didn't know if it was real. Jenner wasn't exactly of sound mind at the end, but now with what they said about Randall..." Evelyn argued, "I didn't want to just blurt it out without being sure, but I told Rick, Shane knew. We didn't want to worry anyone, not until we knew for sure."
"It doesn't matter now, what matters is where the hell our people are." Dale announced, halting any further discussion. Evelyn was thankful for the back-up. Lori too, left it as it was and moved over to Daryl,
"Please, just go back out there and find them, find out what the hell is going on." She asked and Daryl nodded, lightly touching her arm before leading Glenn back outside. Jim stepped over to Evelyn and placed a hand on her shoulder before moving to follow Daryl, only before he could go, Glenn came running back inside.
"Guys, we got a problem…" he announced breathlessly heading back out onto the porch with everyone following behind him quickly. Moving to the end of the porch where Daryl stood they all stood and watched in horror as a heard of walkers began to swarm past the barn, heading right for them. Lori bolted back inside of the house but no one paid her any attention.
"Oh my god…what do we do?" Beth asked, Daryl glanced down at her briefly before looking back up at them individually and then back to the walkers.
"We need guns….it's about to get ugly."
-0-
Okay so here is the long awaited update. My only excuse is health issues, I've been in hospital for a good while now due to problems with my kidneys, tubes were twisted and to cut a long story short, they've put a new tube inside of me, connecting my kidneys…left me with some scars and a deep seeded fear of the hospital but otherwise I'm slowly on the mend.
As you can see we jumped a little, but I want to get them off the farm and onto all the fun stuff I have planned. Plus, I think some of my problems with this story came from them being stuck on the farm. So here's to hoping things get better. I'm not sure what you guys are going to think either on the abruptness of Mark's death but it got to the point where I felt we'd spent way too much time focusing on that douchebag and he didn't deserve anymore. He's gone now and we can focus on more important things.
Question for you guys, as I really need your help. What should the sex of Evelyn and Shane's baby be? A baby girl or a son for Shane? Let me know in a review; really want to know your guys opinions and thoughts about this chapter as well.
The Auburn Girl – I'm glad she came clean too it was about damn time. Shane was on the lookout and it did affect him in a big way. Hopefully with this chapter you get to understand a little more why she kept quiet. Hope to hear from you again.
Violet Lylybelle – Well hopefully you're happy with the fact that Mark is now dead. It may not have been as big as some would have wanted but the only way I was getting through this was if it happened quickly. However at least now they're all safe…from him at least…
Guest – Mark did some serious damage before he was taken out.
Guest – Thank you for such a fab review. I am sticking to the show but trying to make it different, that's always the fun part for me. Hope you like the update would be great to hear from you again.
Liz-04 – You are so not a bad reviewer! Hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter though, things are about to get ugly and brutal for the poor group and Shane!
Lioness32 – As you can see I do have every intention of continuing I was just really not well, or in the right state to write.
Prettyprincess45 – I do plan on continuing again, I really haven't been well and trust me when I say hospitals are not good places for your muse to thrive. Hopefully you enjoyed this update and I hear off you again soon.
Gragner – Thank you! So glad you love this story!